Over 40 years ago, when Jack Cakebread came to photograph the Napa Valley for a book, he casually mentioned to some family friends in Rutherford that he was interested in one day owning a vineyard. Returning home that afternoon, his phone rang and it was the family friends offering to sell their property. He headed back up to the valley that same afternoon to make his best offer. Thus, Cakebread Cellars was born.

Their first vintage, 157 cases of 1973 Chardonnay, was sold to Groezinger’s Wine Shop in Yountville. He in turn sold the wine to a small audience of premium wine drinkers who primarily drove up from the Bay Area on weekends to visit the country. Back then, “Two or three cars an hour would be on the road and we would all stop and look to see who was coming,” recalls patriarch Jack Cakebread. Today, traffic is about 30 cars-a-minute as it seems the world comes to visit Napa Valley, and brothers Bruce and Dennis Cakebread pretty much run the show.

Join us as we talk with Bruce and Dennis about their 40 years in the Napa Valley. We’ll hear about the early days, and what it takes to stay on top of their game in Cabernet-land.

2 Responses to “Wineries of Napa Valley – with Cakebread Cellars”

Enjoyed this interview very much. I was interested in the comment about food pairings with young vs mature wines. This would be a nice topic for an interview on its own. I posted a note at Berserkers, hoping to get a discussion going. Thanks for your ongoing great work with the show.

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GrapeRadio is a wine talk show. Show topics cover issues such as the enjoyment of wine, wine news and industry trends - the hallmark of the show is interviews with world class guest (winemakers, vineyards owners, wine retail / wholesale leaders, restaurateurs and sommeliers). The scope of the show is international so expect to hear many guests from around the world.

GrapeRadio has received numerous awards and honors including the 2008 James Beard Award for excellence in Journalism.

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